from Bruce
Anecdotes
Problem-Solving
• Jazz musician Louis Armstrong faced a problem after his recording of “Mack the Knife” became a huge hit. Audiences requested it, but the sheet music had been lost, so his band couldn’t play it. Fortunately, he solved the problem by taking the members of his band to a place with a jukebox. He kept pouring dimes into the jukebox, and as “Mack the Knife” played over and over, members of his band wrote down the music.
• Alexandre Danilova once lost her underpants while dancing the part of a rich woman in Leonide Massine’s Jardin Public. Ms. Danilova finished her dance, but left her underpants behind when she exited the stage. Tamara Toumanova, dancing the part of a poor woman, came on stage, picked up the underpants, then flung them offstage as if they were a symbol of what her character most detested — wealth.
• The music for the Merce Cunningham dance titled Springweather and People made heavy use of piano pedals. During a performance in California, the pedals came entirely away from the piano, so composer John Cage crawled under the piano and held the pedals in place so they could be played. According to Mr. Cage, the sound under the piano was excellent, but his arms got tired during the performance.
• Clara Louise Kellogg (1842-1916) owned her own opera costumes. While performing in La Traviata, she discovered that the co-starring tenor had chronically dirty hands and was leaving his fingerprints on her costumes. Ms. Kellogg spoke with the offending tenor, who offered to wash his hands before performances if she bought the soap — which she did for the remaining performances.
• Choreographer Paul Gerdt created a pas de deux for Alexandra Vinogradova and Nicolas Legat, in which Ms. Vinogradova was supposed to jump into Mr. Legat’s arms. Ms. Vinogradova was afraid to try this, so Mr. Gerdt — who weighed 170 pounds — demonstrated Mr. Legat’s strength by running several steps, then jumping into his arms. Mr. Legat had no difficulty in catching him.
• Mme. Pandit, Ambassador from India to Great Britain, once gave a dinner party at which the cook and servants had too much to drink. Checking on the dinner, she discovered that it was only half prepared and that the cook was dead drunk and lying on the floor. Very self-assured, she simply took her guests to a Chinese restaurant.
• Hugh Laing once was in the middle of a dance with Alicia Markova in Aleko when she fainted — she was so graceful that the faint seemed part of the dance. Mr. Laing did not stop dancing, but he gathered Ms. Markova in his arms, danced offstage and gave her to some people who could help her, then danced onstage again.
Royalty and Aristocracy
• Playwright Charles MacArthur had little use for snobbishness. At a fancy dinner with members of society, Mr. MacArthur had a few drops of hollandaise sauce on the front of his shirt. The snotty Grand Duke Dimitri of Russia told him, “You have some spots on your shirt.” Mr. MacArthur looked at the medals on the Grand Duke’s shirt and said, “I, too, am wearing my decorations.” The Grand Duke replied, “Possibly from the night before last.” At that, Mr. MacArthur called for the Garcon and ordered him to bring the Grand Duke’s “hat and kiddy car.”
• As a world-famous British ballerina, Margot Fonteyn sometimes met royalty. Once, she met 15-year-old Princess Margaret. While shaking hands, Ms. Fonteyn started to lose her balance, but Princess Margaret steadied her both “expertly and unobtrusively,” causing Ms. Fonteyn to think, “They must be trained for this from childhood.” Princess Margaret once told Ms. Fonteyn after a ballet gala that was televised: “I must be careful what I say about the programme while the TV cameras are running. Deaf people can often lip-read from the screen.”
• When King Edward VII of England fell ill of appendicitis, the entire country prayed for him. He recovered. At a thanksgiving service for the king’s recovery, a Church of England canon who was capable of wit used a hymn-book that had an appendix of hymns for special occasions. The canon told the congregation, “Let us all join in singing hymn number 102, ‘Peace, Blessed Peace’ — in the appendix.”
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© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
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Presenting
Michael Egan
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Track: "La Princesa de Mixco"
Album: This is a two-track single.
Artist: Los Tiros
Artist Location: Guatamala
Info:
“Four outlaws doing pure western.”
Los Tiros translates as Shots.
Los Tiros son:
Alonso - Guitarra y sintetizadores
Buffo - Bajo
Harry - Guitarra
Sebas - Batería y gritos
Price: $1 (USD) for track; $2 (USD) for two-track single
Genre: Rock Instrumental. Surf.
Links:
“La Princesa de Mixco”
Los Tiros on Bandcamp
Los Tiros on YouTube
Other Links:
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David Bruce's Smashwords Page
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Stephen Suggests
Anchorage Library
Library official said Alaska Natives would 'be living in caves' without 'the white man and his oil'
New Venture
Michael Egan
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
Ukraine
Ukraine War: Children showing bravery amongst the chaos (Sky News)
Warning: This video contains distressing images Sky's Stuart Ramsay spoke to 10-year-old Nazar, a Ukrainian boy who leads a patrol group in his local area everyday with a toy gun, questioning soldiers and foreign media at various checkpoints. The boys say they're out from 9am until 9pm every day protecting what's left of their village.
Dr John Campbell: Famine in 2022
Russia and Ukraine, produce 30% of the world’s wheat. Ukraine, provides food for 400 million people.
Other Links:
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Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Gas was $5.99/gal (cash) at the no-name station - $6.59/gal (cash) at the brand name station (Union 76).
France’s Legion of Honor
Billie Jean King
Tennis legend and LGBTQ rights activist Billie Jean King received France’s highest civilian honor, the Legion of Honor, on Friday.
King, who is in France as the French Open concludes, received the award in recognition of her contributions to women’s sports, gender equality and the rights of LGBTQ people in athletics. She took part in a short ceremony at the presidential Elysee Palace at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.
The 78-year-old was back on the main clay court at the Paris tennis complex that hosts the French Open for a ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of winning the 1972 tournament title.
The year before, King risked her career to help start the Virginia Slims Tour for professional women players. It led to the creation of the Women’s Tennis Association in 1973 as the organizing body for women’s professional tennis.
Billie Jean King
LA Home Sells
Betty White
The Los Angeles home where Betty White lived in from 1968 right up until the time of her death has been sold, and it went over the asking price.
The late iconic actress' home in the Brentwood area was sold for $10,678,000. The single-family home had been listed for $10,575,000. It was a rather quick sale, considering the house went on the market back in April. The Golden Girls star and her third husband, Allen Ludden, purchased the property in 1968. When the home hit the market, it was the first time it had done so in over 50 years. The home was built in 1952.
According to the listing on Sotheby’s Realty, the home has five bedrooms and six full bathrooms. The interior of the house measures 3,029 square feet while the exterior is 0.72 acres. Described as “lovingly cared for,” the home has views of the Getty Museum and mountains. The description notes, “The setting is peaceful with flower filled gardens and old growth trees.”
Though the identity of the buyer is not know, it's very likely the house will be torn down since there were no interior tours of the home and it was being sold at land value. The listing had also previously noted that it is the perfect opportunity for the buyer to build their dream home on a flat lot with a serene country setting.
Betty White
New York State Passes Bill
Right-To-Repair
The fight for the right to repair scored a huge win Friday with New York state passing a bill that requires digital electronics manufacturers, like laptop and smartphone manufacturers, to make diagnostic and repair information available to consumers and independent repair shops.
The bill, which passed in the New York Senate (49 to 14) on Wednesday and in the Assembly (145 to 1) today, enacts the Digital Fair Repair Act. Governor Kathy Hochul has to sign the bill before it is law, but advocates, like iFixit, said they don't expect obstacles there.
Notably, the bill doesn't pertain to medical devices, home appliances, agricultural and off-road equipment, or public safety communications equipment. However, right-to-repair advocates have their eye on those areas as well. The bill also doesn't cover motor vehicles.
Companies selling tech products in New York that are covered will be obligated to distribute information, software, tools, and parts so that individuals and independent repair shops can repair personal devices on their own. iFixit said it expects this to take effect by 2023.
The bill successfully argued that it will help protect against "monopolistic practices of digital electronics manufacturers," brought on by the withholding of repair and diagnostic information. This forced consumers to rely on product manufacturers and their authorized repair providers. According to a blog post by iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens today, 59 percent of independent repair shops in California recently reported fear of closure without the right to repair.
Right-To-Repair
Exhibit To Open
Cosquer Cave
A permanent virtual exhibit of one of France’s most famous prehistoric sites, the undersea Cosquer Cave, is set to open its doors as concerns grow that it could be completely inundated as a result of rising tides driven by climate change.
As of Saturday, visitors to the port city of Marseille will be able to see the Cosquer Mediterranee, a replica of the over 30,000-year old site. The visual and audio “experience” features copies of the prehistoric paintings that made the cave internationally famous.
The Cosquer Cave was discovered in 1985 by diver Henri Cosquer, in deep waters off the Marseille coastline.
Years in the making, the exhibit offers the chance to the public to discover the cave of which only 20% currently remains dry and accessible. Officials say the cave’s remaining dry areas are under threat of being flooded because of the effects of climate change.
Cosquer Cave
Before Jan. 6
Pence
The day before a mob of the former President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff called Pence’s lead Secret Service agent to his West Wing office.
The chief of staff, Marc Short, had a message for the agent, Tim Giebels: The president was going to turn publicly against the vice president, and there could be a security risk to Pence because of it.
The stark warning — the only time Short flagged a security concern during his tenure as Pence’s top aide — was uncovered recently during research by this reporter for an upcoming book, “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America,” to be published in October.
Short did not know what form such a security risk might take, according to people familiar with the events. But after days of intensifying pressure from Trump on Pence to take the extraordinary step of intervening in the certification of the Electoral College count to forestall Trump’s defeat, Short seemed to have good reason for concern. The vice president’s refusal to go along was exploding into an open and bitter breach between the two men at a time when the president was stoking the fury of his supporters who were streaming into Washington.
The warning also shows the concern at the highest levels of the government about the danger that Trump’s anticipated actions and words might lead to violence Jan. 6.
Pence
Whines
Louie
Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro was indicted Friday on contempt of Congress charges for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) wasted no time hustling over to Newsmax to utter an odd complaint, griping that Republicans “can’t even lie to Congress or lie to an FBI agent or they’re coming after you.”
Gohmert claimed Navarro being taken into custody shows that “we have a two-tiered justice system.”
“They’re going to bury you,” Gohmert fretted, similar to his past complaints about the treatment of Jan. 6 rioters. “They’re going to put you in the D.C. jail and terrorize and torture you and not live up to the Constitution there.”
In his very next breath, Gohmert complained about the recent acquittal of former Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussman over charges that he lied to the FBI, a case Gohmert and other prominent conservatives have hyped up. The jury in that case was biased, the former Texas state judge. The jury, Gohmert theorized, “said, ‘Look, [Sussman] is a Democrat and of course they’re going to lie. Everybody lies.”
Louie
Conned
Susan
When the Supreme Court’s draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade leaked, Sen. Susan Collins said she was flabbergasted, deeply troubled, even shocked. After all, soon-to-be-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh had promised her in 2018 that Roe was a matter of settled law — despite his deeply conservative track record on abortion.
Turns out, Collins wasn’t just wrong about Kavanaugh. She was deliberately manipulated by Trump administration officials — and a future Supreme Court Justice — who viewed her as an easy mark.
Two former senior Trump White House officials tell Rolling Stone that the pro-choice Collins wasn’t even considered a serious threat to the devoutly conservative Kavanaugh. Instead, the team predicted she’d need only a vague assurance that the nominee would uphold the half-century-old ruling defending abortion rights.
And they were right.
Some administration officials who worked on the Kavanaugh confirmation privately mocked Collins and her public posturing over Roe, the sources recalled, often with crass language such as calling her a “cheap date.”
Susan
Patient's Own Cells
Lab-Grown Ear
A US medical team said Thursday they had reconstructed a human ear using the patient's own tissue to create a 3D bioimplant, a pioneering procedure they hope can be used to treat people with a rare birth defect.
The surgery was performed as part of an early-stage clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the implant for people with microtia, in which the external ear is small and not formed properly.
The procedure involves 3D scanning the patient's opposite ear to create a blueprint, then collecting a sample of their ear cartilage cells and growing them to a sufficient quantity.
These cells are mixed with collagen-based bio-ink, which is shaped into an outer ear. The implant is surrounded by a printed, biodegradable shell, to provide early support, but which is absorbed into the patient's body over time.
The implanted ear is supposed to mature over time, developing the natural look and feel, including elasticity, of a regular ear.
Lab-Grown Ear
'Mermaid Bed'
Greece
Archaeologists have unearthed the ancient burial of a woman lying on a bronze bed near the city of Kozani in northern Greece. It dates to the first century B.C.
Depictions of mermaids decorate the posts of the bed. The bed also displays an image of a bird holding a snake in its mouth, a symbol of the ancient Greek god Apollo. The woman's head was covered with gold laurel leaves that likely were part of a wreath, Areti Chondrogianni-Metoki, director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Kozani, told Live Science in an email. The wooden portions of the bed have decomposed.
Gold threads, possibly from embroidery, were found on the woman's hands, Chondrogianni-Metoki said. Additionally, four clay pots and a glass vessel were buried alongside the remains. No other people were buried with her.
Archaeologists are now analyzing the skeleton to determine the woman's health, age when she died and possible cause of death. The artifacts found with her suggest that she likely came from a wealthy background, and may have belonged to a royal family.
Historical records show that during the first century B.C., Roman control and influence in Greece was on the rise. The Romans destroyed the city of Corinth in 146 B.C. and sacked Athens in 86 B.C. In 48 B.C. a crucial battle in northern Greece known as the Battle of Pharsalus saw the army of Julius Caesar defeat a force led by Pompey; the victory resulted in Caesar becoming the de facto ruler of Rome.
Greece
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